Trial By Fire
by The Honorable Arik Novak
Summary: Zuko is sentenced to death. How did he get there, when a year before everything was going so smoothly? A story of a boy rising from the ashes a man. AU from the beginning
1. The End of All Things

**Prologue: The End of All Things**

The metal door creaked open.

Zuko tried to still the ever-present tremor of his malnourished body, but he knew he no longer had control over it. Footsteps echoed against the drip-drip of the cell's rough bricks. He tried to shrink into himself, to provide less of himself for his torturers' entertainment, but the chains didn't allow it. He let his head fall, knowing that he could not prevent the inevitable. They would ask him questions and force him to confess what they wanted even if it wasn't true; he had lost the will to resist long ago.

"Prince Zuko," an old voice rang in his ears.

He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted everything to be gone. "Please," he begged, his throat too dry to allow him to say anything without his voice cracking. "I'll do whatever you want, just let me go," he pleaded. It never worked.

His chains rattled weakly as he tried to put his palms together in vain. His right arm had broken at an odd angle and had yet to be fixed, and he had sores at his wrists. They were chained so high above his head that it took all the energy he had to relieve the pressure and stand up. He couldn't move without hurting. How long had he been there? How long had he been in the cold, sunless dark?

"Prince Zuko, the tribunal found you guilty for high treason. They want to sentence you to death."

So he wasn't here to torture him. The man was here to end him.

"No," he whispered. If his tear ducts were functional, he would have been crying. "No, I-I change my mind, haven't done anything wrong!" He thrashed around ineffectively, the metal clanking and wounds on his back reopening. He knew that whatever he said now would be thrown out of the record, and that he would confess to other crimes as soon as they took their evil instruments to him.

A callused hand clutched his shoulder and he winced. "You need to get away before your father signs the death warrant." His father wasn't there.

Zuko looked up, eyes wide. "He hasn't signed it yet?" he breathed. "Then there's hope! He's got to understand, he wouldn't let them execute me!" Uncle Iroh, that's who was there. Uncle Iroh would save him.

Since his eyes were open now, he could see his Uncle's austere frown. "He let them do this to you," Uncle said, waving a hand around the chamber, at the unrelenting chains keeping him on his feet and the gruel sitting half moldy on the stone below.

His voice caught in his throat and he jerked his shoulder away from the only comforting presence in the entire palace. "Then I'll die," Zuko said, as he supposed a real Crown Prince should. Looking at the situation from a certain perspective, Zuko could see the appeal in dying; then he'd be free.

"Yes, you will."

A sob wretched itself from him, and he let his head fall in resignation. Somehow, hearing those words from his optimistic Uncle made reality crash around him.

"I don't even get a last will and testament," he said to himself. Ages ago, he had never imagined his last moments like this. He had always imagined himself old and regal, sitting on the throne behind a wall of fire. His wife, beautiful, beautiful Mai at his side. They'd walk to their bedroom, and he would die old and content on a big bed in Mai's arms against the mourning of his empire. Such a dream had been crushed with her loss, and then he thought he could be satisfied with a peasant death, with his grown child at his side.

It was a far cry from the chill and the dimness of this chamber.

"My child?" he pleaded woefully. It was, in his own way, his last will and testament.

"Dead," Uncle said with a merciless finality. Zuko choked on a sob. There was no reason to live anymore anyway. Not when his family chained him up, his friends hated him, and even his one hope had been snatched away from him. Uncle then bent down and opened a bag Zuko hadn't noticed. "I have tea for you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko almost laughed. Prince? What kind of prince was sentenced to death by his own people? "I don't think this is the time for tea, Uncle." Even those few words grated at his throat. Perhaps it was time for tea after all, if it would soothe the ache.

"No, this is a perfect time for tea. You might find that tea is quite invigorating at times," the old man said, holding up a dainty tea cup, "And at other times, a simple release." He held it to Zuko's lips and carefully tilted it so that the hot liquid could slide into his dry mouth.

"Thank you, Uncle," he muttered as he licked his cracked lips. "At least I have someone at my side," he reminded himself. Maybe the afterlife wouldn't be so bad.

Uncle Iroh nodded solemnly and helped him sip at the cup until only the tea leaves were left. Zuko chanced a glance at the dregs and chuckled. If he believed in the common people's superstitions, he wondered what a boat formed by the loose leaves would mean.

"I will always be at your side," Uncle said calmly, taking a step away. Zuko tried to focus on the man, but his vision was wavering, and the chamber seemed to tilt to the left...and then to the right... What was happening? He blinked once or twice, but still, the image of his Uncle looked strange, blurry and deformed.

"Better by my hand than his, eh Prince Zuko?" the old man asked with a regretful smile.

What? What had Uncle Iroh done? Zuko felt his arms give way so that only the chains were holding him up. He could tell his eyes were open, but he could see nothing. And through his haze, amidst the memories of everything that had happened to bring him to this point, he could hear his Uncle shouting .

"Guards! Come quickly, Prince Zuko is dying!"

* * *

a/n: The following chapters will focus on how he got to be where he is. I'm primarily writing this to relieve stress, and secondarily to get a happy boost from reviews, as this semester is killing me. Also, this story is based on a historical events. If anyone can tell me what it is, I'll give him/her an internet cookie. :D Please leave a review!


	2. The Beginning of the End

**The Beginning of the End**

_364 days ago..._

"I think...I love you," she said with her ashy voice. Zuko loved that voice, the wry humor that fell from her lips and the careful disdain that she showed everyone, including him at times.

"Don't say such things," he whispered, holding her cold hand. He heated them with his warmth, hoping that by some miracle of Agni, she would pull through. Because he knew she was only saying those words because she assumed they would be her last.

Mai smiled, a rare action that illustrated to him how dire the situation was. Zuko looked toward the door whence the worst silence was coming. "You name the kid," she said instead.

"She's a girl," Zuko said, "But she, she hasn't started crying, and the healers aren't sure if there's something wrong with her lungs…"

"Idiot," she chuckled weakly. "She's quiet, just like her parents. She'll keep you company once I've gone."

Zuko squeezed her hand so hard, she winced. Immediately, he loosened his hold and looked up at her with guilty eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just that you can't keep talking like that. You can't_ leave_ me." He felt ashamed at the weakness in his words. Another person he loved, leaving him. And she was too young; too young to be a mother, and too young to be dying.

Instead of arguing with him, she sighed and pulled her hand away to let it rest on her empty abdomen. She closed her eyes, as if blocking Zuko from whatever peace she had found. "Not leaving you, Zuko. I'll be around." Her voice was so quiet now that Zuko had to strain to hear her. Her weak breaths stilled to nothing, and Zuko clutched tightly onto the hope that she would breathe another breath, that her heart would beat another beat.

He knew the moment her spirit abandoned the earthly plane. He felt the air lose all heat and the coldness of death sweep into the chamber. He felt the fire in her dissipate. Although she wasn't a bender, she always had such fire within. "Mai...I know you loved me." He hoped.

* * *

The mourning period for Princess Mai was short. The public hadn't had time to embrace her as the wife of their crown prince, since the Fire Nation was in the midst of its greatest war. Firelord Ozai, who had ordered the political marriage, moved on quickly and efficiently. To onlookers, even Princess Azula seemed unaffected by the death of her childhood friend.

But Crown Prince Zuko had changed, they said. He had yet to give the silent baby a name, a sign of laziness and apathy which the people and their Firelord Ozai greatly detested.

"Something strong, Zuzu," Azula whined the day after the funeral as she looked down at her nephew. At least she had come home from her Avatar-hunting for the ceremony. The nuisance had risen from nowhere a year or so ago, but Azula hadn't gone out until two months after the first rumors reached the Fire Nation. In fact, the day before Zuko and Mai's wedding. "Name her after father."

Zuko couldn't care less what the child's name was. He still couldn't believe how quickly everyone else had recovered after Mai's death. Perhaps they had never been sad at all.

"Ozai the second! Perhaps Soza. How's that, Soza?" Azula wiggled her finger at the baby. "You got Mai's tiny eyes, didn't you?" Azula would never resort to baby-speak, but she was getting frighteningly close. "Hopefully you didn't get your father's pitiful firebending skills. Maybe you'll be good at throwing knives? I wonder how old you have to be to start training…"

"I doubt Mai would have wanted her named after Sozin," Zuko said unhappily. He looked down at the infant. He did have Mai's tiny eyes. "Mai."

Azula rolled her eyes. "She would've hated that. You're just being lazy and depressed. Why not Soza? I think it's a perfect name."

Zuko couldn't pin down a reason as to why he didn't like it, but he was sure that Mai wouldn't have. She had separated herself from the war (though she had separated herself from most things), and Zuko knew that she didn't like what the war had done, both to the Fire Nation and to other kingdoms.

"Ursa…" he wondered to himself. Even to his ears, it didn't sound right.

"Zuko, stop trying to name your kid after the _weak_ female figures in your life. Even naming her after deadbeat Uncle Iroh, or damn, she'd be better off being named Zuzu."

Zuko cringed. He wouldn't condemn his daughter to a life of being called 'Zuzu.' Well, he still had a week left until the naming ceremony, so he didn't need to be too worried yet. And if he procrastinated too long, he'd give the responsibility over to a fortune teller who at least wouldn't name her 'Zuzu.' Now only to get the baby away from his sister. It was awkward, but somehow, he picked up the newborn. The infant looked up at him with Mai's critical eyes, even though he knew in his rational mind that there was no intelligence behind those familiar amber eyes. Mai wasn't really there. "I'm not ready for this, Azula," he confessed. Why, of all people, he confessed to Azula, he had no clue.

"Of course you're not," she said flippantly, "Because you're only sixteen, hardly parent material. I think father just wanted to make sure there was an heir before he killed you himself."

Zuko wondered if Azula knew how convincing she was. He remembered a time when he once worshiped his father, adored the floor he walked on. But the years had pummeled him, and he only stayed for Mai. What was there for him now?

"Then why not get rid of me completely? You can still have kids. Despite all your efforts, you _are_ still a woman," he wheedled her. Azula looked like she was ready to punch him, but Zuko hoped her violent tendencies would take a break around the baby.

"Oh, daddy dearest knows I'm not going to get married. Can you imagine me as a wife? I have things to do, people to conquer, and so on," she said haughtily.

Zuko scoffed and shifted the baby so that he could start feeding it with a bottle. "As if anyone would marry you." He didn't want any wet-nurse bonding with Mai's daughter, so the milk was pumped and bottled. Zuko didn't care how unnatural some people considered it.

Azula seethed and probably would have attacked him if the newborn hadn't already started suckling at the bottle.

"Oh, you're lucky that baby's cute," she hissed and stalked away.

Zuko looked down at the thing, the infant. He wasn't ever sure what to say or do while he was holding it. Her. The baby's eyes were closed, and even then, he could see how much she resembled Mai. But she wasn't Mai, and nothing could replace her.

"Your mother was beautiful," he finally decided on speaking. "Quiet, sarcastic, she made a great princess." The stories he could tell about Mai were limited to the ones everybody else knew about; he didn't want any spies knowing the more intimate details of their love.

A knock on the door.

"What?" he called rudely.

Uncle Iroh walked in, his hands in his sleeves and a sad smile in place. "Prince Zuko, the War Council is gathering. You must attend." As soon as Mai had given birth, the generals decided that Zuko had performed a great deed for the nation in producing an heir. He wondered if they also thought that it was worth losing a person as wonderful as Mai.

Zuko nodded jerkily and shooed the old man from his room. It occurred to him, as he was laying the baby in his cradle, that this life was precious. The last thing he had left of his wife. Perhaps life itself was precious, any life. Mai's was. Her death shook him. He didn't want to do anything, least of all to attend a council in the war room.

He followed the old man down the hallways to the war room, the strategic center of the 100-year war. He could see why Uncle Iroh had decided to retreat from Ba Sing Se, to withdraw from the war. The man's wife, as well as his son, had passed as well, and Uncle had tried to commiserate once or twice over their lost loves. But it wasn't the same. Mai was special. And so young. Why did the young have to die, Zuko agonized. She'd had her whole life ahead of her! She was feisty and healthy and beautiful and witty and-and Zuko didn't know how he could continue life without her.

Zuko didn't want to be here. He didn't want to sit in the tall-backed chairs listening to old men discuss their life-size Pai Sho game, but he paid attention anyway. He would be the Firelord someday, and he had to learn strategy. Apparently. Zuko rolled his eyes at the farce. Even though he still wasn't supposed to say anything at these meetings. He tried keeping his head up, but sleepless nights in a cold bed coupled with the cries of a newborn were pulling his eyelids down. He shook himself and focused on the man who spoke up in curiosity about whatever the general was proposing. "-entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth kingdom battalion?"

"I don't," the general smirked.

Decoy troops? His ears perked up, and he leaned forward.

"They'll be used as a distraction as we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait than fresh meat?" the old general answered with a smirk.

But they'll die. If they were new and inexperienced, how old would they be? Zuko's age? The newest recruits were even younger, starting at fourteen. The Fire Nation's war was a long one and required the army to draft younger and younger soldiers.

"So you'll sacrifice them?" Zuko interrupted, having heard enough.

"Excuse me?" the general asked, hardly believing that the presumptuous young prince would interrupt him. Obviously, the man was much too old to be gambling the lives of Fire Nation youth if he couldn't hear Zuko's pointed question.

Zuko slammed his hand on the table. "You're saying you would sacrifice loyal Fire Nation soldiers, boys who love and defend our nation, just for your stupid trap?" He ignored the council's faces surprised at his audacity and growled, "A trap that wouldn't work on turtleducks, let alone trained Earth kingdom soldiers? How can you betray your people?" So Zuko had no reason to claim that it wouldn't work. So what? The man was willing to sacrifice their own men, when already the nation was recruiting mere teenagers. Was he willing to sacrifice someone's son, brother, or husband, all to gain a dot on a map?

"Well, they're inexperienced, so we wouldn't be losing much," the man sneered.

Zuko saw red and shot up from his chair, fire inadvertently gathering in his palms.

"Enough!" The flames separating the long table from the Firelord rose with the man's anger. "This challenge is an act of blatant disrespect. There is only one way to resolve this."

Agni Kai they all thought.

"I'm not afraid of you," Zuko sneered in return to the old general. Zuko might not have been as talented as Azula, but surely he could take on one old man who hadn't seen the battlefield in decades.

* * *

Fire. Burning, red hot. Pain. Dishonor.

Zuko tried to blink, belatedly realizing that only one eye could open. He gasped as his memory came alive and he lifted a hand to the left side of his face. Bandages. Would he be able to see out of that eye? And his hair-was it all gone?! He felt around for a second before coming to a ponytail high on his head. Ah, he had felt the weight, but the feeling of bare scalp had spooked him. At least he still had his ponytail.

"Father wants to kill you," sang an irritating voice in the corner of the room. Zuko briefly wondered what healer would allow such malpractice as to let Azula into a patient's room. Then he realized that he was in his own room with a simple medical kit still resting on the bed. He looked to the measly kit and then to Azula, confused and doubtful that-

"No, I wasn't the one to patch you up," she said dismissively. "No, not me. I was all for waiting for infection to set in. But I suppose I don't have to, now that Father's on his way to kill you." Azula always lies. Zuko tried chanting his mantra, but he was finding it harder and harder to believe.

"What makes-" Zuko had to catch his breath since he was still injured, "you think that?" His vitriol was somewhat weakened by his paltry voice and his inability to think past the pain.

"Oh, he definitely said something along those lines. He even said that if this had happened years ago, he'd just banish you to go looking for the Avatar. Too bad the nuisance actually exists. Then there'd be a chance of you restoring your honor. Now, it seems Daddy's just going to off you himself."

"Then he would have-during the Agni Kai," Zuko muttered halfheartedly. He was tired and doubtful of his own words.

"In front of Uncle Iroh and others on your side?" There were people on his side? "Oh, just you wait," Azula said happily, practically skipping out of the room. Zuko tried to push himself up but found his strength lacking.

Rustling. Movement. A cry.

The baby was crying again. For a moment, Zuko had forgotten the little wretch existed. Was no one here to help? Zuko used strength he didn't realize he still had to push himself upright. He used his arms to pull his legs to the side, and almost collapsed when he left the support of the bed.

"Sh, sh, daddy's here," he told the infant even though he was still quite far from the crib. He slowly made his way over to the newborn, and used the headboard of the crib as support. As he was now, he wouldn't risk picking up the baby just to drop it. Her.

"Don't worry, daddy's not going anywhere." He did however put a hand in the crib and let the baby fingers curl around his index finger. Zuko felt himself smile. Not a wretch, Mai's daughter…Mai's daughter was still here.

"You cannot enter!"

Zuko heard the voice of his uncle through the wooden doors.

"He is my son, and this is my palace! I go where I please." His father's voice. Zuko heard some jostling beyond the doors, and wondered if they were struggling.

"You almost killed him." Maybe that had been his purpose.

Zuko shook the thought from his head. He couldn't let himself believe Azula's lies, no matter how persuasive they were. Sure, his face felt like it was still on fire, but the rest of him was relatively fine. He did wonder why he was so weak, though.

"You've made me wait long enough, brother. Zuko has dishonored himself by refusing to fight. He needs to earn that honor back, and until then, he will be banished from the Fire Nation." Zuko could understand his father's reasoning, as painful as it was. He had been weak. He had embarrassed his father before all of his men. How could Zuko expect any men to follow him after such a debacle? Maybe, maybe he could capture the Avatar? That would surely make him worthy.

He pulled himself up and had to force himself to move toward the doors. He tried pulling them open, but with the little strength he had, they merely budged toward him.

"Prince Zuko?" Uncle Iroh wondered aloud. The doors opened wider. "Prince Zuko, you should be resting!"

"No, Father's right. I must earn my honor back," he said, forcing all the words out without a sign of the pain he was feeling. He looked up pleadingly to his father's face. "What must I do?"

The Firelord glanced at his brother and put a heavy arm around Zuko's shoulders. With a compassionate voice, his father said, "Come, my son. Into your room now." As Zuko made his way toward the bed, he heard the doors closing behind him, the sound of despair settling in. He was so tired.

"That was pathetic," Firelord Ozai hissed.

Zuko hung his head.

"Dishonor, boy." Zuko flinched at the tone of voice. "You are the weakest firebender I have ever set my unfortunate eyes on." The man was towering above him. "Who knew such good blood could produce such-"

"Waaah! Waaah!"

His father's tirade was stopped short by the crying behind him. Though Zuko's eyes were still focused on the floor, he could hear the man's footsteps close in on the crib. "What's this?"

For some reason, Zuko's stomach turned inside out when his father lifted the infant up. "I hope you won't be as abysmal as your father, no you won't," the man cooed to the baby. If Zuko had anything in his stomach, he would have expelled it at the display before him. Put her down. Don't touch her, don't-

"Agni knows, Grandpa wouldn't want to have to train you as I must Zuko."

Something broke in Zuko's mind. It never occurred to him that his daughter would also be at the mercy of his father. If the infant was no prodigy like Azula, would she be subjected to the same treatment as Zuko had been? And if she did grow up to be as talented as Azula, Zuko still didn't want to imagine his daughter becoming such a monster under the tutelage of the Firelord. Cold sweat leaked from him skin, which was rare as the warm natural temperature usually heated it up. Zuko could only feel chills running through him and cold blood pumping into his head. He had to get his child away, away from those hands that burned.

"What must I do to restore my honor?" Zuko asked with a pained voice in order to distract the man from his daughter.

Thankfully, the Firelord set the still whimpering baby in its crib and set his glare once again upon Zuko. He felt the blood pump normally and his adrenaline seep away. Now, he was just tired. "I was thinking you should go on a dragon-hunt. An age-old, noble tradition. Appropriate, I think."

Dragons? But they were all gone, extinct. "Why not the Avatar, father? Uncle said that the last drago-"

"Your Uncle has no place in this conversation!" The man's eyes blazed in anger. "And your sister has the task of seizing the Avatar. She has made incredible progress." His eyes narrowed, still angry, still disappointed. "If you come back to this palace without the head of a dragon, I should be most displeased. You will not disobey me."

"...Yes sir," Zuko answered emptily. It was halfhearted, lackluster. He couldn't bolster the energy to complain about the impossible task, not when the last vestiges of heart-stopping fear had barely left him.

"You will leave two days hence. Get packing." With that, he swept from the room and slammed the doors behind him.

"Waaah!"

Zuko wasn't going to get any rest.

* * *

a/n: I hope this was comprehensible; I certainly did not stick to canon with this one. The Gaang won't show up til the chapter after next. Thank you very much for reading, and please leave a review!


	3. Escape and Bato of the Water Tribe

_"Zuko," said a voice, "listen to me."_

_He ignored the soft plea and stuck his fingers in his ears. "La la la, I'm not listening to you!"_

_"Young man, don't make me chase you!"_

_Frankly, that's exactly what he wanted. Mom didn't play with him enough. With that thought in mind, he leapt around, jumping from rock to rock in the zen garden. Mom would have to jump on the rocks too if she didn't want to upset the careful patterns raked into the sand. Grandfather Azulon had a certain love of the waves of sand he cultivated in his spare time._

_"Zuko, your father's coming!"_

_Oh no, he'd be so mad! Panicked, he slipped off the tallest boulder and landed on the soft sand. He glanced around furtively, wondering if his father had seen. Zuko saw nothing, but he certainly heard something. Giggling. And not just one feminine giggling, but two. Still sitting with his butt in the sand, he looked toward where his mom had been and grew red. Mai was there with her! And she was _laughing_ at him. She never laughed._

_Turning ever redder, he felt the sand grow hot beneath his embarrassed fingers. Mom was still laughing, but in a very ladylike manner with her hand covering her mouth. Mai was copying her mannerisms, and looked every part of the court lady. Zuko hadn't seen the girl laugh in a long time. Although he was incredibly humiliated, it was nice seeing her smile._

_"What are you doing here, Mai?" he asked defensively._

_"Azula invited me over to play, " she said, equally defensively. She leapt onto the rocks as well, more careful and graceful than Zuko could ever hope to be. Landing on the tallest one, she sat down with her legs crossed and looked down at him. "Didn't know you'd be giving a show!"_

_Mom laughed at this again. She was totally not on his side. Glaring at her, Zuko shot up and stormed from the gardens. He'd been having fun until they started giggling at him. He couldn't believe how such a pretty young girl could be so mean. Coming to his room, he sulked by his desk, looking at all the assignments he'd yet to do. He bet Azula had finished all her work. She was always ahead._

_Behind him, the door creaked open. "Go away, Mom," he told her._

_"Ew, I'm not your mom."_

_He whirled around. "Mai!" What was she doing in his room? No one was allowed in his room but royals and servants. Certainly not a noble of the opposite gender…_

_She sidled up to him and placed several beads on his desk._

_"What're these?" he asked, wondering why a girl thought he would want some stupid beads._

_"You made them," she said. The few glass drops were dull and small, nothing much. "When you were in the sand. You turned them into glass."_

_Zuko looked up into her eyes. There, he saw a wonder and a jealousy. He fire bended them? He picked up the biggest bead, smaller than his smallest button, and many of the smaller but shinier beads. Turning his back to the girl in his room, he heated the glass. He shaped it until he had one flat glassy platinum disc, its circumference the length of his thumb. He then pulled the heat from it and rubbed it against his sleeve to give it some more shine._

_"You can keep this one," he told her, dropping it into her awaiting hands._

_Her eyes glowed as silver glass would. He had done well, he thought. Instead of thanking him, she blushed and punched his shoulder. "Ow! What was that fo-" And kissed him on the cheek. It was short, but it was Zuko's first._

_She snuck out, but Zuko was fine with that. His legs were too wobbly to stand anyway._

He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked out at the sun rising above expansive ocean as the strains of girlish laughter faded. He sighed, the vague dream slipping from his mind like sand through fingers.

Dragon-hunting was nothing like how he supposed Avatar-hunting would be. For one, though Azula had ships and Rough Riders and all sorts of soldiers at her command, Zuko only had himself. And a baby.

If he were being honest with himself, he would admit that dragon-hunting was the last thing on his agenda. Escaping fire nation territory was his first priority. He adjusted his hold on the thing, the infant-he really should have named her by now, as there would be no naming ceremony-and looked forlornly at the sea around him.

Surely his father would have a problem with him taking the heir, the future of the nation, with him on a perilous journey. However, Zuko didn't know how long he would take, and he wouldn't risk leaving his daughter, Mai's daughter, to the mercies of his sister and father. So in the dead of night, he stole away with a few supplies and his child.

Now that he was on a commoner's ship, a week into his journey with not nearly enough supplies, he realized that he should've planned better. He had a knife, his blue mask and twin dao he had once received as gifts, and food. At this point, they didn't seem like nearly enough. Now, he wondered how much a blue theatre mask would go for at the local market. He didn't even have papers or licenses, nothing in the way of identification. He had never needed such a thing before. Traveling as royalty, with all the trappings of royalty, meant that people knew who you were. On the other hand, he was somewhat relieved that no one seemed to recognize him without all the richly decorated robes and glimmering luxuries. And he reasoned that word of the banished, injured prince hadn't yet reached peasant gossip since no one seemed to mind him.

Was his focus on the dragon? Not at all. Zuko half-supposed that his father was just trying to get rid of him anyway. Anger spiked within him, and he felt his palms growing warm. He clenched his fists as he thought of his objective. Kill a dragon. Maybe Uncle was lying about the dragons. His father wouldn't give him a useless task, and Uncle never brought back proof of the dragons' demise. The man just wanted Zuko to toughen up and make himself worthy of the Fire Nation. If he came back with the head of a dragon, his father would certainly take him back. Back home, he thought wistfully.

It gave him a purpose to an otherwise aimless journey. The passenger ship would take him only to the fire colonies: the islands, like Jang Hui, or the military bases like the Pohuai Stronghold. He doubted the dragons would be at the North or South poles, and people in the Fire Nation were too sensitive to the presence of dragons to not notice one in their area. If the dragons hid anywhere, it would be in the Earth kingdom or the abandoned Air Nomad temples.

"Waah! Wawaaah!"

"Okay, okay, I've got you." Zuko wasn't cut out for this. He ignored the stares of other Fire Nation citizens and cradled the baby, but didn't know what else to do with it. He continued to minister to the thing, all the while listening to the gossip of the Fire Nation

"Did you hear? The Avatar made an appearance on Crescent Island," a woman said to another beside her. They were both clad in the dull fire nation red of peasants.

"Oh no, I hadn't. why would he do that?"

"Or she!" someone piped up.

A bulky man tilted his head up at the question. "Obviously to seek Avatar Roku, the traitor." Several others sneered at the offensive name, and Zuko found himself doing the same out of habit.

"I wonder what kind of bender?"

"Likely of Earth. They reproduce like Rabiroos."

"No, no, Water. I've heard the northern ones have been prospering up there, what with our forces unable to get them…"

Zuko ignored their mutterings and the wild rumors being bandied about. He had heard quite a bit from Azula. Apparently he was lithe and short. She had said nothing of his age, but Zuko assumed he was an old man. She kept his nation of origion confidential as well, so Zuko could only guess as the people on the boat had. He couldn't believe the avatar could be fire again; he'd have to go through the whole cycle undetected. If the air nomad avatar had died with the purging, then he was reborn into the water tribe. That should have happened a hundred years ago, though. Had the avatar been spending the last hundred years training? He should have done something by now if he were still around. Still, Azula said she had fought him and had almost caught him if not for some upstart general.

"Land ho!"

He doubted the Pohuai Stronghold would allow him entrance. He was supposed to be banished, and that meant every place in the fire nation was to cast him out. Zuko wondered if it included the colonies. He hoped not. He would have liked to meet some friendly firebenders along his way, maybe some people who could help him. Though he certainly wouldn't find them in Pohuai, not it being a military base and all.

A familiar ship greeted him at the stronghold. He remembered a general or lieutenant named Zhao who had been at the war meeting, and Zuko recognized him now. Haughty, bulky, not lithe like a proper firebender. He was standing at the front of the ship, hands behind his back and his nose pointed upwards. Zhao would certainly recognize him, as the man had been there at the farcical Agni Kai.

Well, Zuko had it easy for too long anyway; he figured something would come along to make things worse. He snuck off the boat, dodging the men checking passports and papers, and holding the sleeping child close to him, stole down the pier. He unwound the ropes and pushed a boat out to sea. If he could get across the river, he'd be free in the Earth kingdom. A perfect place to start searching.

As he disembarked on friendly Earth kingdom shores and arranged his effects about him, he realized that he was ill-equipped in an unexpected way: he had no green. He was wearing deep reds and oranges, but the people here all wore brown and green. He watched the busy peasants scurrying about in their forest greens, shades of olive and asparagus, so many different versions of green! He would stick out and they'd execute him simply for being from the Fire Nation. Admittedly, his mind was probably overworked and he was going mad from the endless seas, but it was a worry that plagued him nonetheless.

He wrapped a neutral-colored cloth around the baby-still nameless though the time of naming had clearly passed-and walked into town anyway. He tied his ponytail up into a rough topknot; those were more common in the Earth Kingdom, he saw. He donned a black cloak, hopefully not too uncommon in the earthy fashion. His hood was up, just in case any would recognize him. It seemed that the bandaged eye was utterly invisible.

Well, not utterly. He certainly had not anticipated this outcome. A bored woman casually swinging a strand of beads glanced his way, curiously looked at him a tiny bit, caught herself, and then seemed to put all her focus into counting the beads on the necklace. Zuko had to restrain a laugh. Really? That's all it took?

He noticed that particular behavior from several other people, from full grown brawny men to little old ladies. They all had the misfortune of seeing the bandages and his intense, angry eye and then immediately directed their attention at something else, be it the ground, the wares of a local merchant, or on walking straight ahead. He found it amusing more than anything else.

He ventured around the towns, occasionally hearing snippets of the avatar's whereabouts. It seems he or she wasn't very good at staying hidden.

"Yep yep, I heard the Avatar defeated a fire nation general."

"Now where'd you hear that hooey?"

"My cousin, you know, the one in the army? Well, he went to get some medicines from the Herbalist in Taku, and people in the surrounding area wouldn't stop gabbing about it."

Zuko knew his history. Taku had once been an important trade city, and from what he knew of Earth Kingdom geography, he must have passed the ruins a few days ago. He thought that if hunting the Avatar were his quest, rather than a dragon, he would have easily finished it. At least the Avatar existed.

Zuko was starving, exhausted, and sleep-deprived. He was sure the baby in his arms wasn't faring so well either. All the food he'd been able to get was stolen or from the food peasants threw out. It was a new low for him, but he found himself caring less everyday as the gnawing emptiness in his stomach grew greater. Any food he had acquired usually went into his mouth to be chewed into mush and then fed to the baby. He hoped she was old enough to be eating mush. There was no milk to be had.

At the next town, he walked up to a man loitering around. "Is there an inn around here?" he asked wearily. He wouldn't pay. He would loiter out back and collect the leftovers that the traveling rich were wont to throw out.

One look at Zuko was all the man needed to shake his head and turn his back. At one point, he remembered thinking it amusing that people were intimidated by his wound and fierce glare. By now, it wasn't amusing anymore. He asked a few other people, but they seemed much too interested in their own affairs to help him.

"Scuse me, sah," a kid called to him and tugged at his sleeve, "but if you be wantin to stay somewhere, you ain't gonna find a place 'round here. Not wit that eyecolor a yourn." Well, that wasn't something he could fix. Was the tone of his entire journey going to be based on his eyecolor or his wound? "But uh, maybe wit a bit a coin, I could tell ya where you could go?"

Zuko fingered a coin in his pocket. He had very few left, not enough to even make a jingling sound, and they were reserved for emergencies. If this boy didn't want to help him, he'd find his own way. "Never mind." He turned his heel and was ready to walk away when the kid laid a hand on his shoulder. Zuko started for his swords for a split second, but reminded himself that this boy could do him very little harm.

"Wait! Okay, way out that away, there's an abbey. They gotta take you in. That's where undesirables go."

How...nice. Well, Zuko wasn't going to argue. Maybe he wouldn't even have to pay to stay there. If an abbey was anything like a Fire nation temple, then they'd be obligated to help a weary traveler. He nodded at the boy and hefted the baby into a comfortable position in the crook of one arm. He could see something of a building in the direction the boy had pointed and so started out in that direction. With a walking stick in the other hand, he slowly made his way straight through the forest, carefully singeing any foliage in his way. He would make it before sundown, he was certain.

* * *

Well, he had been certain. The sun was well below the horizon when he reached the walls. They were high and made almost entirely of earth. It shouldn't have surprised him since he was, after all, in the Earth Kingdom, but the houses and small buildings he had passed were nothing in comparison. The roofs seemed to be made out of normal material and had a dark blue, maybe green color. Blue-probably not the water tribes, but the color of religious buildings, those colored like the sky. There was one huge gate, behind which he could barely see the towering roof of a building within the complex. He wondered if he was supposed to knock or something. His eyes raked the gates, looking for a communication method; some buildings had a sophisticated system that amounted to cups and strings. Finding none, he banged on the gates with his walking stick.

If that hadn't woken them, the crying sure would have. The baby was crying again at the noise he'd made, but Zuko couldn't blame her.

He saw the lights of the complex come alive. Zuko sure hoped he had the right place. He heard some rough scraping, and the door opened far enough for an old woman to stick her head out. "Hello?" Well, so far so good. Hopefully she wouldn't back away when she saw his eye. Or the extent of his bandaged wound.

"We're looking for a place to stay."

The woman stepped out, leaving the door open. She had a lantern in one hand and her other hand still on the door. As her eyes roamed the scene, her face transformed into pity. "Oh dear, poor child!"

Thinking she was patronizing him, Zuko was going to protest that he wasn't a little kid anymore, but the woman too quickly had her paws on his daughter. He turned away so that the baby was out of her reach. Looking down at her, since she was on the short side, he said behind clenched teeth, "Excuse me, will there be space? Because if not, we'll be on our way."

She raised her eyes to him as well and he had to force himself not to take a step back from her intense, searching gaze. "Well you and your brother can stay here as long as you both need to. How old is the child?" she asked, turning back toward the abbey. Brother? He supposed the dark green must have misled her to think the baby was a boy.

"Young. Not even a year," he answered distractedly, "Maybe a few months. Or less. Or more. I haven't been keeping track." Back home, it would be considered irresponsible. The royal family, even lesser noble families, celebrated the first week of life. And then the first month, then the first half-year, then the first nine months...how much time had passed since Mai left him?

"Hm." The abbess gestured into the compound, and Zuko was relieved to know he had a place to stay the night. "Well then, come in…" she paused, scratched her chin, and looked back at him. "What did you say your name was?"

Name? He supposed 'Zuko' sounded too Fire Nation and was too recognizable. "Li." There, a good commoner's name.

"Ah," she said, bobbing her head in understanding. "And your little brother?"

He hesitated. Name the child, right then, right there? Just make something up on the spot? Musha? Urza? Maiko? He started sweating. He couldn't place a name on Mai's daughter so abruptly, so without thought. It would be the baby's first name, and although he could throw out any old name for himself, he could not do so for one who was nameless.

His hesitation was long enough that the old woman turned her head inquisitively. "Or does he not have a name?"

Oh, that was a good excuse. And a true statement as well. "Her mother died before she could be given a name."

The abbess blushed at her mistake. "Ah, and her father?"

Again, he hesitated. Would it be so bad if she knew he was the baby's father? Young marriages were common in the Earth Kingdom too, right? He wasn't sure. But again, his silence saved him from awkward answers.

"Oh, well I suppose that's enough prying from me. I'm sure the sisters will have much to ask you anyway."

He nodded to show he had heard. He tucked the baby into his cloak, now holding it with both arms; the walking stick could wait outside until he needed it for the next leg of his journey. He followed her, right into a room decorated with furs and tapestries. "Bato, we've another refugee," the lady called out. He saw a wriggling sleeping bag twitching at the far end of the room, and a tired head peeked out. Turning to Zuko, the abbess told him, "There's only this room for now. I hope you don't mind the accommodations."

"They're things from my tribe back at the South Pole," the man called Bato explained the furnishings with a yawn, "but I can take them down if they make you feel uncomfortable." Zuko didn't know what there was that could make him uncomfortable. Sure, there were fur rugs and the hanging heads of animals-probably just for ceremony and not a usual house decoration. He shook his head. Nothing here bothered him. Except perhaps the wateryness of all of it.

He never had much esteem for waterbenders. As far as he card, their only talent was putting out fires. "It's fine."

"Well, it's pretty late, so I suggest you take a fur and curl up," the man said as his mouth opened into another wide, gaping yawn. Zuko nodded and sat himself down on a fur. With his back to the water tribe man, he uncovered the baby and laid it beside him. He'd heard of parents sleeping next to their children and accidentally smothering them in sleep. After another second of thought, he got off the rug, folded it up so that it reached a reasonable height-not so high that the baby would be injured in a fall, and not so low that Zuko could roll onto him-and placed it on the fur. The bare floor didn't bother him. He recently had worse. Sleeping upright on a boat, half-awake from the fear of any upcoming storm, was far more uncomfortable.

"So how old are you?" the man asked, having turned in his sleeping bag toward Zuko.

Didn't the man just suggest they sleep? "Sixteen," he said with a yawn, hoping the man would take the hint.

"Ah, so a man," said...Bato? Yes, Bato was his name. Zuko puffed up; of course he was a man! He had gotten through every trial that could possibly test his maturity.

"I knew a boy back home...he'd be your age by now. He was far more immature though," he said with a quiet laugh.

Zuko curled onto his side away from the man and was determined to ignore his roommate.

"You're probably tired."

'Really?' Zuko through as he rolled his eyes.

"It's a harsh world out there, kid. Not safe for you two," the man said more quietly, as if he was talking more to himself.

"My own son would be your age, if he had survived the raids," Bato continued so quietly that Zuko's ears had to strain to hear him. Zuko felt his heart clench, but continued to take deep long breaths to simulate sleep.

"Take care of yourself, kid. I'm sure your parents are worried about you, whether they're still here or in the spirit world."

Bato would think differently if he knew the slightest bit about him. Zuko tried to ignore this thought and listened to Bato's soft advice-"Don't wander the world looking just for yourself; try to be your_ best_ self you can be. You owe the world that."- until he drifted off to sleep, unaware that the coming week would have something extraordinary for him.

* * *

A/N: so reviews would be very much appreciated, since my week=terrible. I was slated to get an A in a class, and I just bombed the last test. Here's hoping I do well enough on the final to get a B...Anyway, thank you very much for taking the time to read the story. He meets Aang in the next chapter!


	4. Some Kid Named Aang

He had five wonderful days of food and convalescence. Then, children invaded the sanctuary.

When Zuko awoke to the playful shouts, he wondered for a suspended moment how long he had been sleeping. Had the baby grown up without him? The sleepy haze quickly dissipated, and Zuko realized that the shouts were coming from outside the room and that the baby was still sleeping easily. His roommate was gone too.

His back wasn't too happy with his decision to sleep on the bare floor, and after doing a few stretches, even some simpler fire-bending patterns, he poked his head out. With Bato now were two kids who were certainly water tribe. The boy might've been Zuko's age, and the girl perhaps Azula's. There was a third kid dressed in garb Zuko had never seen before.

Orange and yellow. And a bright blue arrow tattoo right on his bald head that seemed to trail down his neck. And now that Zuko was looking, arrow tattoos on his arms and hands too.

"Oh, you're awake." The water tribe man was giving him an appraising look. It was probably because Zuko's bandage was getting filthy even though he had wrapped it the night before. "These two are the children of my good friend," Bato introduced him, as if he were familiar with Zuko. He noticed that the third boy wasn't introduced; surely he couldn't be related to the two dark ones. He was kicking dirt around, as if gloomy or pensive instead of joining the introductions.

The prince merely stared at them.

"He's not a talkative one. But tell me, Sokka, how long are you all staying?" This is was not a conversation Zuko cared to hear. Ducking back into the room, he sat beside the folded furs and stared at the baby. It was growing hair. Inky, black, fire nation hair. Nothing like the dark brown of those water tribe people.

Through the barely open entrance, Zuko could hear the water tribe boy speaking loudly. "Well, seeing as we gotta get to the North Pole as soon as possible, not too long," he said with a resigned voice. Was this the boy Bato spoke of? The immature one he considered a son in place of his dead child? The boy glanced at the girl who was obviously his sister. "I'm sorry Katara, but as much as I'd like to meet up with dad, Aang is more important."

"No, I agree," the girl must have asserted. Her voice was soft, but not timid. He let himself peek out again.

"But we can stay a while," the bald kid conceded. He must have perked up.

"Please do," Bato said, showing them where the room with all the water tribe paraphernalia was. "There'll be enough space for all of us as long as it's one night."

The tallest boy headed the group, strutting to the room. "It'll be nice to sleep indoors, though. I mean, really-"

"Quiet."

Obviously, he hadn't noticed Zuko leaning against the opening to the room. He didn't seem bothered either. "Hey, who're you to tell me to be quiet? It's not like I was being all that loud-"

"Waaaaaaaaah!"

The boy jumped back, but Zuko was too concerned with the crying baby to laugh at the boy's skittishness. The girl was giving her brother a mildly scathing look, and the other boy, Aang, started forward.

"What's his name?" the bald one asked, having silently followed Zuko to the baby's side. The boy's eyes glanced from the baby to Zuko's bandaged face and then back to the baby.

Zuko tried to hide his irritation. "She doesn't have one," he corrected again. Why did everyone think the child was a boy? The baby looked up at the new strangers, and giggled at them, as if she appreciated all the attention.

"Wow, I haven't seen someone with yellow eyes in a while." Zuko froze. Would he be outed so simply, so quickly? "Reminds me of my friend Kuzon," he continued. The boy niggled at the baby with a finger. "Aw, why so cute?" The baby made a bubble of spit, entertaining both of them.

Did he not realize the significance of amber eyes? They were prevalent only in the Fire Nation, and at one point had become exclusive to the Fire Nation royal family. This boy was friends with someone from the fire nation?

"Why didn't your parents name her?" the inquisitive boy asked, still playing with the baby's fingers.

"Didn't have a chance," Zuko said stiffly. "Her mother died."

The girl looked at him appraisingly. She seemed to catch onto something. "Then you aren't siblings?"

Zuko stayed silent for a while. He was never any good at lying. Avoiding the truth, perhaps, but outright lying never sat comfortably with him. "No. But we're close relations."

"Hm. Okay." She seemed to have drawn her own conclusions. Zuko wasn't sure what she had assumed, but he'd let her think what she liked.

"So what're you traveling for?" the bald one, Aang, asked.

Looking for dragons? That wasn't believable. "Just...travelling." Running away. How dishonorable that sounded. Running away? Only cowards did that.

"Yeah, travelling," the annoying tall boy repeated sarcastically. "Sure, you're just travelling."

Zuko brushed off his sarcasm. This boy could do nothing to him. "What of you? Aren't you all a little young to be travelling by yourselves?" He could see how the water tribe peasant reared up in offense at his words.

"Hey! I bet you're not that much older than us!"

Maybe in years, Zuko thought, but not in experience.

"Well, I'll be going then." He had stayed at the sanctuary long enough. Now it was time to move on, get away from the annoying children and the inquisitive Bato. He lifted up his meager possessions and took the baby in the crook of his other arm.

"Now wait a second, kid."

"Li," he corrected Bato. He was tired of the man calling him 'kid.'

"Li, then. The abbess told me to keep you here. You're still not well."

Zuko could see that. He was gaunt, skinny, and had lost most of the muscle he had built up over the years. But he was healing, and it was time he left anyway. No reason to get attached. "They can't stop me."

He underestimated the water tribe man. As Zuko left the room, the man caught him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him down none too gently. Thankfully, the man had been considerate of the baby in his arms and made a concerted effort not to harm it. Her, Zuko reminded himself.

"What do you think you're doing!" He struggled against the stronger man. Zuko wouldn't be held down by a mere peasant! He wouldn't!

"Listen, it's for your own good-"

His own good? He'd heard those words so many times from his own father.

"-and I bet that wound on your face isn't anywhere near healed, and you're all skin and bones. If you keep going like this, you'll waste away, and then where will that baby be?"

That baby?

He meant his daughter. His daughter. His responsibility. Zuko gradually calmed down. He couldn't do anything to harm the baby, even if it wasn't on purpose.

The water tribe man gave him a strange analyzing look but it passed quickly enough that Zuko didn't have a chance to scrutinize him back. He wrapped both arms around the child, jostled and on the verge on crying, but safe all the same.

"What have you been feeding her?" the girl asked.

"Normal stuff. Milk, when I can get it. Mushed up food otherwise." He could tell that she was judging him by the way her eyebrows creased and lips drew tight. He could also tell that the verdict wouldn't be good.

"When you can get it? Babies need to be fed regularly, and they need milk from the mother for quite a while. It helps their immune system. You can't just feed them mushed up adult food!"

Zuko clenched his teeth. He knew all this. If he had the option to do any of that, he would've picked it! He clenched his teeth even harder to stop himself from shouting at her, unconsciously squeezing his arms as well.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

His hold relaxed, and he sunk to the ground. What did he know about babies? For goodness sake, he had already hurt the little thing, and he hadn't even meant to. It started with squeezing, he thought. Then tight grips that occasionally left bruises. Then the occasional slap, the infrequent spanking done in anger. Then, somehow, it turned into a grueling training session that continued long after you lost consciousness-

"Li, are you okay? Li!"

Right, his name was supposed to be Li. "Yeah? What do you want?"

"You spaced out for a little bit. Anyway, I was saying that there's a town nearby that should have supplies for you."

Supplies. Yes, it was about time to refill his supplies. He dug through the large rucksack he had brought with him, and found that he had apparently eaten through most of the food. Then to town it was. Hopefully, they'd let him leave to stock up on his necessities. Then he could hightail it out of there and toward the north. Hopefully the dragons would be up there.

He nodded to himself. "Then I will be leaving." He pulled the rucksack tight and slung it over a shoulder. He held his little girl close to him and started making his way to the door.

"Wait! You're not going alone, are you?" the girl shouted after him.

He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "What, you didn't think you'd be accompanying me, did you?" He turned back toward the doors and had his hand on the wood to make his way out when something quick and airy appeared between him and his escape.

"Let's go with you! We need to get some stuff too," said the bald boy in orange.

"I don't need you to slow me down," he claimed. He shoved the boy out of his way and found his walking stick from the night before still leaning against the outer side of the wall.

Suddenly, a huge white furry thing landed before him. It was ginormous, bigger than any creature Zuko had seen anywhere. He thought only a dragon could compete with it for size. He took a step back, and dropped his stick to protect his child with the extra hand.

"Appa, meet Li! Li, meet Appa. He's offering to let us ride him to town. It'll be quick, I promise."

Well, the kids weren't very threatening. There was nothing about them that caused worry in him. And he would rather ride than walk any day.

* * *

"Nah, we'll pay!"

Zuko was immensely thankful for the boy's munificence, but found it specious at best. The trio had also offered to pay for the milk, and Zuko let them. He hesitantly picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, and quickly shoved it into his mouth. He couldn't explain the lack of manners, but at the moment, he couldn't care less about looking the part of a prince. If his other hand wasn't holding his daughter, he would've picked up his bowl of rice to shovel the grains into his gaping mouth more easily.

"He eats like Sokka," the girl remarked as he continued to eat faster than he could breath. Their opinions didn't matter to him. They didn't. He was just hungry.

And uncomfortable. There was a rumbling in his stomach that roiled and rebelled against the sudden fullness. He felt acid climb up his throat, but he steadfastly shut his mouth and was determined not to lose his stomach.

There was a hand on his shoulder. "You okay? When was the last time you ate?"

Zuko couldn't say for two reasons. Firstly because he couldn't remember, and secondly because if he opened his mouth, he thought he'd sick up everything he had just eaten. He creased his eyebrows, but he couldn't take it anymore. He found the nearest window and retched. He felt a sense of loss and sadness when he saw the nutrients leave him. Even when he got the chance to eat, he couldn't.

"Whoa! You sick?" the water tribe boy asked him. Zuko looked mournfully at the ruined food soaked in stomach acid and mixing with the dirt and mud on the ground outside.

"I guess you could say that," he muttered. The girl tried to guide him back to the table, but he wrenched his arm away.

She sat down without looking offended at his actions and waved a waiter over to look over a menu. "Could we order a soup? Yeah, the chicken broth one would be good." Turning to Zuko, the girl, Katara, looked him over. "You're awfully thin. But the baby you're with doesn't seem as badly off." She nodded toward the sleeping infant in his arms.

Zuko supposed it was because most of the food he scrounged went to the baby. "What's it to you?"

A bowl of soup was unceremoniously dropped onto their table. "So," Katara said, quickly thanking the waiter and pushing the bowl toward him, "I think your stomach's just not used to so much solid food. Broth is both nutritious and easy on your stomach."

It surprised him, but he couldn't exactly say why. He took it more slowly this time. The others finished the meat and rice long before Zuko had finished his soup, but they didn't seem to mind as they started tittering about all their adventures and such. He concentrated on his soup, hoping to finish it without upsetting his stomach; it was good, but there was possibly too much basil.

"So...what happened to your eye?"

The blunt question startled him, but he had gotten accustomed to the water tribe boy's frankness.

"Firebender. I'd rather not talk about it," he said, ending the conversation. They'd see him as a victim, not a firebender himself. After all, most firebenders could withstand fire if they controlled and directed the heat. Zuko's hand clenched his spoon. A concentrated blast to the eye from the Firelord's hand was not something Zuko could have controlled.

They nodded in sympathy. The girl, especially, seemed pained at his paltry confession. He assumed a firebender had wronged her somehow. The three took on another course of discussion, arguing about the best way to get to the North Pole so that they could learn water bending from the masters. Judging from their conversation, they had been following a mile inward from the coastline on the flying creature, which meant they were taking the extremely long route to the north.

Zuko wondered if they were serious about their quest or if they were just out sightseeing. Taking another spoonful of soup, he then said, "It would be best for you to cut across instead of going around. Approximately seventy degrees north of east."

"Wha?" asked the bald kid, Aang. "Do you have a map in your brain or something?"

It was a fair question; he had a rather good head for maps. "Geography was the only subject in which I ever excelled." Well, he did well enough in history if he learned it as stories and not as old battlefield stratagems like Azula had.

"Ah, so you have an education," Sokka said, sagely nodding his head. Zuko wondered if the boy had stumbled across something important. Had he realized that Zuko must have come from a privileged class to have studied different subjects instead of one trade? The boy's eyes glinted, and for a second, Zuko worried that his cover would be blown the slightest bit. "And that means that you can help us navigate!"

Well, no worries then. This boy was as dense as a brick.

"No. I have my own journey before me. For my...honor." Honor, he scoffed to himself. If he were well-fed and didn't have a child to look after, would he be more concerned with honor? As it was now, the abstract notion was certainly not the first thing on his mind. Anyway, as much as he appreciated their financial altruism, he couldn't let himself be sidetracked by a bunch of kids on a scavenger hunt. He had things to do, nonexistent dragons to hunt.

He pulled his rucksack over his shoulder and tried not to jostle the infant. "Thank you, but I'll be on my way now."

"Wait!" called Katara. Zuko didn't want to stop, but he hesitated long enough for her to get in front of him. "Think of what's best for the baby in your arms. You were practically starving. You're still underweight and injured. What would happen to her if something happened to you? After we've finished in the North Pole, I swear we'll help you get to wherever you need."

"Katara!" the older boy scolded her for making promises she couldn't be certain to keep. They did have a flying creature. He bet they could fly to the North pole and back by the time Zuko got anywhere. He really had nothing else to do, but...

Zuko shook his head to rid himself of the thought. He couldn't. "I couldn't," he repeated aloud for their sake and his. He wrenched himself from their company.

He was fed, thanks to their generosity. He had money, not from their generosity, but from their pockets. And lastly, he had a pointless mission and years of banishment before him. Yup, he was set and much too busy to surround himself with mere children. No matter how curious their enterprise seemed.

* * *

A/n: well, there you go! Hopefully you guys enjoyed it enough to leave a little encouragement in the form of a review. =)


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